[Ferro-Alloys.com] Production output for the quarter ended 31 March 2021 of 38,415 tonnes of ferrosilicon (“FeSi”) and 57,136 tonnes of manganese alloys comprised mainly silicomanganese (“SiMn”) and high carbon ferromanganese (“HCFeMn”) .

A total of 25,029 tonnes of FeSi and 50,996 tonnes of manganese alloys were sold during the quarter ended 31 March 2021.

OM Sarawak owns a Ferroalloy Smelting Plant in the Samalaju Industrial Park in Sarawak, Malaysia (the “Plant”).

The Plant consists of 8 main workshops with a total of 16 units of 25.5 MVA furnaces, of which 10 units are allocated for the production of FeSi and 6 units are allocated for the production of manganese alloys. The Plant has a design capacity to produce approximately 200,000 to 210,000 tonnes of FeSi and 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of manganese alloys per annum. The Plant also consists of a sinter plant that has a design capacity to produce 250,000 tonnes of sinter ore per annum.

As at 31 March 2021, 12 out of 16 furnaces were in operation with 6 furnaces producing FeSi and 6 furnaces producing manganese alloys. Of the remaining 4 FeSi furnaces, 2 furnaces have been idled for the purpose of conversion to produce manganese alloys, with the other 2 currently idled and ready to be re-started once manpower constraints have been alleviated.

During the quarter ended 31 March 2021, FeSi production volumes increased by 13.4% as compared to the quarter ended 31 December 2020. This was attributed to higher production efficiencies with minimal downtime experienced following scheduled maintenance of furnaces in the previous quarter. Manganese alloys production volume decreased by 7.6% due to changes in the product mix with lower demand for HCFeMn during the quarter ended 31 March 2021. The second lockdown in Malaysia since January 2021 has been extended following a surge in COVID-19 cases in various states in Malaysia.

The sales volumes for both FeSi and manganese alloys decreased by 45.5% and 37.5% respectively as the pace of destocking inventory stabilized during the quarter ended 31 March 2021. Sales volumes were significantly higher in the previous quarter following a surge in demand from end users as steel mills collectively restocked ferroalloys in December 2020.

FeSi prices continued on its upward trend from December 2020, closing at US$1,465 per metric tonne at the end of March 2021, as reported by Platts. The price of FeSi has been further supported during the quarter due to policy changes relating to power consumption in Inner Mongolia, reducing supply from the largest FeSi producing region in China.

Supported by strong regional demand and limited global production, the price of SiMn to Japan also closed higher at US$1,280 per metric tonne, as reported by Platts.

Source: OM MARCH 2021 QUARTERLY PRODUCTION AND MARKET UPDAT

• [Editor:kangmingfei]